Is it this one? https://welltrainedmind.com/p/a-plan-for-teaching-writing-focus-on-the-elementary-grades-mp3/

https://ourjourneywestward.com/ Cindy is a CM homeschooler and she has older kids. I have found many great things on her blog.

All About Reading and Spelling Rightstart Math Brave Writer Five in a Row and Before Five in a Row First Language Lessons Real Science 4 Kids Handwriting Without Tears Atelier Art

I start assigning novels that I want them to read independently in third grade. These are in addition to family read alouds and their own free choice reading.

It is funny because I always think about you know what you know. Kids who have never been in public school really don't have any concept of how much better the homeschool schedule is compared to a public school day. My nephews were in public school for years before being homeschooled and they will routinely share their school memories with my kids. My kids still like to complain about how long their day is and so on and I do remind them of how much better our schedule is, but I still don't really think they get it because this is all they know.

I have saved so much money purchasing used curriculum. For example, the only way I was willing to try MCT is because I found it used for a good price. It was just too much money up front for something I wasn't sure about. I primarily shop at Homeschool Classifieds, the classfieds here, Amazon and Ebay. I also shop at a local used homeschool sale in my area. I tend to only purchase curriculum used if I can get a significant discount, if not, then I purchase new. I feel like if you can find something for a good price, it makes it easier to take a chance on something. I do try to look at things in person when I am at a convention or Mardel's because many time just seeing it in person makes it really clear if it is something I will like. I agree with the above poster that no matter how careful you are, there are eventually going to be some things that don't work for one reason or another and that is part of the process.

Ms. Goldgirl on Youtube also has great basic make up application videos.

I totally agree with this. I used I See Sam books with my oldest child because AAR was not out then. I have then used AAR with younger children, and I am so much happier with AAR. It is so much more comprehensive and thorough. I feel like any Orton-Gillingham phonics program takes a while to get into before you can easily find readers at the library that kids can read. Most of the readers at the library have tons of sight words that just drive me crazy because they are too difficult for a kid that is really using phonics. Of course, the traditional reader is geared for the public-schooled kid that is taught tons of sight words and very little phonics. However, if your kid doesn't like the readers, then try a few different things, but it might take some time and patience until he can read the readers at the library.

We are really enjoying it also.

We just joined Liberty Healthshare. Looking at it just on paper is so much better for us than being on conventional insurance. It is about half of what we were paying and the out of pocket is much lower. I haven't actually used it yet, but we are excited about the switch.

We have had weekly poetry time for years, but two years ago we added in Poetry Teatime every other week. This year they are begging for Poetry Teatime every week, but I let them know they will have to help with the snacks. We don't decorate or do anything fancy, but I did buy a little tea pot. We don't even use it every week, but we have it. Sometimes there is a homemade treat, but most of the time it is whatever I can pull together like crackers, cheese, fruit, nuts, and maybe a few M&Ms. I would also say that some kids don't like tea, so lemonade, hot chocolate, juice or whatever works for you is great. My kids are big poetry lovers so I usually have to cut things off at 30 minutes or it would go on forever. For starting out, I would have everyone share a poem if they are comfortable or you can just share a few poems while they are eating. I personally think that the choice of poetry is more important than all the decorations and snacks. My kids love to eat, so really anything I serve is fine with them. Some of our favorite poets include: Bruce Lansky, Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, Kalli Dakos, Douglas Florian, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Jane Yolen, Marilyn Singer, and Eve Merriam.

I don't expect my 2nd graders to be reading true chapter books until the 2nd semester. I don't think your child is behind at all. I find that when kids start reading chapter books that they usually take off pretty quickly. Stay the course! I have also read that regardless of when children start reading that most kids are at the same reading level by 4th grade. I think we spend too much time stressing over things that are developmental and every child develops at their own pace and that is just fine.

The first haircut would look so cute on you. My hair is a lot longer than I am used to and I find myself always putting it up and I have been thinking about going back to a shorter look because it looks so much more put together. I think it is so smart to go and talk to a stylist and they will tell you what your hair will do and what work it will take. My hair has to be layered and I always mentioned that to my stylist. My hair is naturally wavy, but I can actually pretty curly hair by doing Ouidad's Rake and Shake technique. It might be an nice option for you. Here is a video to show you the basic approach. It is pretty quick once you get used to it and you can use any products you want.

It is not my blog, but I thought the author did a great job of summarizing our experience with the curriculum. You can definitely start September in August and move slowly. I can never get through everything in the curriculum in a month. We have some activities that we have done every year and then some other things we have spread over several years. I spend a little time in the summer lining out what activities we are going to do each week and that helps me to gather supplies. However, if we don't get to something then I just move it to the next week. With an older child, there might be some activities that you skip or just change in some way. The first year we went through AYOPS, I had 2nd grader and 1st grader tagging along with my preschooler and they also really enjoyed the activities. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have and definitely join the Facebook group.

This will be our third year using the curriculum and we absolutely love it. It has been one of my best homeschool purchases. You can pick and chose what activities work best for your family and even my older kids have also participated in many of the activities. I feel like I have more than got my money's worth out of it. The Facebook group is really neat because people share how they implement the ideas in the curriculum and it is just a very supportive space. The sample for September is very representative of the curriculum, so really give that a look. Here is a great review https://farmhouseschoolhouse.com/2016/05/22/a-year-of-playing-skillfully/

I have learned so much about makeup in the last few years from a few beauty Youtubers. I had really good skin for a long time so I didn't need very much makeup. That might be exactly where you are. You are probably fine with a CC cream and concealer as opposed to foundation. As I have aged, I can't get by with being as low maintenance as I used to be so I started researching products, tools, and application tips. Some of my favorite Youtubers in your age range are EmilyNoel 83 and Jessica Braun. I believe that they both have videos dedicated to getting started or the basics of makeup. Ms. Goldgirl is in her 40s, but she has a great series on makeup basics. They all show a good combination of drugstore and high end makeup choices. I can definitely recommend the Real Techniques brushes and makeup sponge.

Have you looked Teaching the Classics? I just ordered it, but I know at convention I heard Adam Andrews talk about deciding how many books a year that you could read and discuss with your children. He said that might be a small number like three and with those titles you would go through his socratic questioning technique and really give full attention to those books. Then they would read lots of other books on their own. He even recommends using picture books to teach his strategies. It might be something worth looking into.

We looked at The Wand and I didn't see the need for it because we already had a phonics program. I had a friend that used it and loved it, but I really couldn't see the appeal. I just didn't think there was enough there to really use it as your phonics program. It just wasn't systematic enough for me, but I do supplement BW with other language arts curriculum. I also think they need to completely redo the sample. It is not very representative of the whole program. It makes it hard for people to decide if The Wand is a good fit for them, but that is just my 2 cents.

Physician's Formula Butter Bronzer is really good for a drugstore bronzer. It comes in two colors. https://www.physiciansformula.com/catalog/product/view/id/1736

We just ordered this CD: https://www.amazon.com/Story-Mozart-Words-Music/dp/B000001KCN/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1496686825&sr=1-4-fkmr1&keywords=vox+music+masters+mozart And this book https://www.amazon.com/Musical-Genius-Wolfgang-Creative-Biography/dp/1575056372/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1496686946&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=musical+genius+mozart I have also heard really good things about the Classical Kids series: https://www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php?id=005406&subject=Music/17&category=Mozart%92s+Magnificent+Voyage/5624

You can definitely dress age-appropriately and be on trend. Have you looked for any fashion bloggers that are your age to see what they are wearing? I have found several in my age range and it has been so helpful to learn some basics of what is on trend, but then to decide which trends work for me and what trends just don't. I have learned some basic formulas that work for me over and over and are so effortless, but look put together. I few bloggers that I can think of that are in their early thirties are: Blog Corrilyn,Putting me Together, and The Small Things Blog.

My best friend is a lawyer and it is definitely not flexible or family friendly.

I just noticed that Rainbow Resource is now carrying Mere Motherhood.

I bought The Writer's Jungle years ago as well, but it wasn't until I heard Julie on Periscope that everything from Brave Writer came together for me. She has such a great way of talking about the importance of a literature rich lifestyle. I love that you can take the strategies she shares and really use them with any writing curriculum or you can create your own. What makes Brave Writer unique is that Julie comes from the perspective of how a professional writer approaches the task of writing instead of the way a teacher works backwards to teach children how to write. In our home, my children have grown exponentially in their writing abilities since we adopted the Brave Writer approach. Julie's Periscope and Facebook Live videos can be found on the Brave Writer Youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNemB4-I94oNOAmAgQ68Usg

We have used Righstart with three kids of varying mathematical abilities and we had no problem moving from Level A to B. I would take time over the summer to play a lot of the games and really work on reinforcing the skills that are being taught. Sometimes just time will help children because as they grow they are better able to make the connections they need to be successful in math. My guess is that if you just go as slowly as your child needs to go and you will be fine. Also, Rightstart has excellent customer service and they have always been very responsive when I have reached out to them.